


Sea Swept

by ZazuWoods



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Adventure, F/M, Pirates, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-28
Updated: 2015-02-28
Packaged: 2018-03-15 14:47:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3451031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZazuWoods/pseuds/ZazuWoods
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When the world ends, Beth Green finds herself promised to a pirate captain to save her sister's life. A/U but mentions of zombies.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sea Swept

1x.

When the world comes to an end, Beth Green is sixteen.

She sits on the porch steps of the wrap around porch, and she watches as the world slowly crumbles.

The elderly are the first to go. She watches as their faces pale, their hands shake, and their gait becomes an awkward lurch. Eventually, their skin greys and sloughs off. Sometimes she steps in it on the ground. Mostly when she and Maggie slip off to check on their neighbors. It makes Beth gag sometimes, but never Maggie. When their skin is mostly gone, the pale bone of the face is exposed, and their teeth gnash at Beth and Maggie as they skip away back to the farm.

Hershel warns to the girls to stay away from anyone who seems sick. It's a virus, he proclaims over dinner. The girls eat quietly, but Beth has a hard time swallowing. She doesn't tell him that she doesn't think a virus would make poor Mrs. Grimes seem to rise up from what seems like the dead. Her arm had gotten caught on the large tree in her yard, and Beth had let out a yelp as she heard the thick tear of the grey skin, and the soft thump when the arm hit the ground. Maggie had pulled Beth back with wild eyes, and made her swear up and down not to tell Daddy.

So they stay away, but it gets harder and harder.

Beth watches as the kids in the preschool seem to pale and wan, and before long almost everyone around town is walking around with sallow skin and dull eyes. Beth and Maggie keep to themselves. They skirt the edges of the grocery store, and they are rarely talk to anyone that limps by them. Most days Hershel keeps them busy. There are a few farming families that seem to be fairly stable, and they all trade between them. The girls help him as best they can, and school falls aside. It doesn't matter. There are only eight kids left in Beth's sophomore class, and almost none left in Maggie's senior class. Their father doesn't mention when they stop going completely.

It's almost spring when their brother Shaun appears. He's been gone for a few months; skipped town to head out with friends with the promise of riches and women and a sea life career. He is taller than Beth remembers, but his eyes hold a hollow weariness to them. He takes stake of everything at the farm, and then stays up late discussing matters with Hershel that he doesn't want them to hear. But she does. She hears the tightness in his voice when explains to Daddy that the world is not the same, and the virus has wiped out almost all of the state. She watches her father shake his head, and she watches as Shawn desperately pleads for their father to come with him.

Beth tries to scoot closer to them, her body flush against the wall, as Maggie joins her. Together they press their ears towards the kitchen. Beth makes out a few of Shaun's hurried words.

Leave.

Trade.

South Carolina.

Shipping Routes.

Safe.

Columbia.

She swears she hears him mention the word pirate, and she muffles a laugh.

Pirates.

Pirates aren't real.

He's lost his mind. Maybe he's infected. She tries to crane her head to see if she can see any signs of infection from here. A stiff neck? Rigid posture? Pale skin? Sagging eye sockets? Shaun has none of these. His skin is a tanned bronze color, and all of his limbs have stayed attached. Maggie breaks her thoughts, gesturing wildly beside her.

"Pirates?" she mouths.

Beth shrugs, and motions back to the table. She watches as her daddy shakes his head, and hears him let out a huff.

"There's going to be a cure, Shaun. You just wait and see. I'm not given' up my farm to run around while you and your friends play pirates."

She watches as Shaun's shoulders slump. "We aren't playing pirates. I'm not even on one of the ships. I'm just a guy who helps process merchandise heading overseas. But it's safe. If you can get on a boat, there are ships docking at Columbia where there isn't any infection. I was thinking you could take Maggie and Beth and keep them both safe. I have some connections."

Hershel shakes his head.

"We're safe here."

Beth can tell the conversation is over; she and Maggie slink back to Beth's room. They stop at the door, and Maggie seems lost in thought.

"Maggie?"

Maggie turns to face her, her lips twisting into a scowl.

"Bethy, I think we should go with Shaun."

Beth isn't surprised, but there is a part of her that collapses into itself. "Daddy said no, Maggie."

Maggie straightens herself upright. "I'm eighteen. He can't stop me."

Beth doesn't argue. She heads over to her sister and hugs her tightly. Maggie will do what Maggie wants, but Beth doesn't really think she will run away with Shaun. "Don't go. You'll just make Daddy mad. Plus it's almost summer. The calves should be born soon…" She trails off, and she realizes that Maggie isn't listening.

"I don't want to birth no more calves Bethy." She breaks their hug, and heads towards her own room. Beth watches her walk away, and she wonders just how old you have to be to be a pirate.

When the morning turns, Beth has no desire to get up. She slept horribly. Her dreams were filled with terrible images of dark dirty men with rotting skin, seas that rolled and twisted until she was tossed down below, and eventually of Maggie- dressed in some sort of old timey ensemble but topped with a dark black hat with a skull embossed into the front. Maggie's skin was dull and twisty, loose clumps dripping onto Beth and she tried to pull her from the water. When her face was nothing left but a thick jaw bone and rotten eye socket, Beth feels herself jerk awake.

Maggie is gone.

She doesn't need to go check on her to know this.

Maggie would have quietly packed her bags, and slipped out with Shaun all without so much as saying goodbye to Beth. Her chest is tight as she makes her way down the stairs, and she stops at the bottom as she sees her father talking to Detective Grimes.

"Mornin' Beth." Detective Grimes isn't really a detective. He was the local sheriff, but with the current plague or virus or whatever it is wiping out the state, he's been promoted to Detective. He's a handsome man, but he currently looks tired and worn out. His beard is scruffy, and he's got circles under his eyes. It takes Beth a minute to remember that he's got a son a few years younger than her, a brand new baby, and his wife's arm got ripped off a little while ago and she stumbled away into the woods before anyone could help her. She wonders if they found the arm and not Lori.

"Hi Detective Grimes."

She makes her way past them, giving her father a tight smile. She opens the fridge to pull out some milk and she hears Detective Grimes talk in a weary voice.

"Well, Hershel, you know I can't report anyone missing until it's been twenty four hours. And Maggie is eighteen now. She might just been pushin' you a little bit." He tries to say the last part gently, but Beth can hear the stress in it. He's got Carl, and Carl's a bit of a punk even now.

Hershel sighs, and ushers him back onto the porch. He's going to pretend that everything is ok. That Maggie will skip through the doors in a few days, and apologize a whole bunch. But Beth knows better. She puts the milk back in the fridge, and she realizes she never even poured herself a glass.

She hears Detective Grimes promise to keep in touch, but the words sound so hollow that he even he doesn't sound like he believes them.

 

Fall arrives with a bang.

Fireworks burst in night sky, and Beth struggles to remember if there are even enough people left in the town to celebrate. The Annual Fall Festival has been in full swing, but there are not more than a handful of people walking around the carnival. She and Maggie always went to the festival together. It's not the same without her. The carnival rides whoosh past her. Neon lights blink rapidly and there should be shrieks of laughter and mock scares. But it is oddly quiet. After watching an empty ferris wheel go round and round , Beth says hi a few girls that she thinks were in her class. They were always taller and prettier, but in the humid fall night they look worn out. Both girls seem too thin, too bony, and too ashy. Beth feels her chest constrict as amble past her. There's something wrong with the brown haired one's eye. From where she stands, it looks like it's loose in its socket. They don't make it too far past her when Beth hears the sick crunch of breaking bone. The girl's ankle has turned inward, but she doesn't notice. She limps along, the bones scraping the ground. No one really seems to notice but Beth. She backs away, trying to find a worker to alert. But there really aren't any that don't share the same pallor or woozy look in their eyes.

She mostly runs home.

She rushes in through the door, and her eyes fill with tears.

"Daddy!" She yells for him, before collapsing and sliding down the front door. He appears instantly, still dressed in his work clothes.

"Beth! Are you hurt? Sick? Did one of them bite you?" He's by her in an instant, checking her limbs and tilting her chin up at him.

"We need to get out of here." She's having a hard time getting the words out. They rattle in her mouth, and she shakes. "Everyone's infected."

Her father looks at her sympathetically. He strokes her hair and murmurs "there…there…"

"Daddy! We need to go! We can go find Maggie." She pleads with him, but her father pays no further attention. His hands seem to tremble the tiniest bit.

"Bethy, there's a cure coming. We just need to wait it out. This is the safest place we could be in." He helps pull her to her feet, and smiles at her. For the first time in her life, Beth finds herself questioning her father's sanity. She doesn't say anything. She just wordlessly heads to her room, and collapses onto her bed. She screws her eyes shut, hoping to avoid dreaming. She can't take much more of anyone's face rotting off.

When she turns seventeen, it is with such little fanfare that it hurts her heart. Her momma always made a big deal about birthdays. A home made cake, pretty decorations, presents with giant bows, and a party with all the neighbors. After she passed away, her daddy did a great job trying to keep up the tradition. The cakes were usually a little sloppy, and the décor may not have been birthday themed (she still smiles when she thinks about the time he decorated the kitchen in the Christmas decorations before he and Maggie leapt out to surprise her), but he tried.

But this year, he doesn't do anything. He barely glances in her direction as she makes her way to make some toast. Fall is nearing its end, and the kitchen is slowly warming up with the sun. She waits for the toast to toast, and she hums absently.

"Do you know what day it is today?" Hershel asks quietly.

Beth's heart leaps in her chest.

"It's been almost a year since your sister left."

And just like that, her heart sinks back to her somewhere low in her ribs. It hasn't been a year. Or has it? She can barely remember. All she knows is that it's almost winter, and they are one of the last families in town.

She butters her toast and tries hard not to think about everyone that's gone.

Detective Grimes is still in town, but he's stretched between three counties and he's rarely in their area anymore. She knows his son takes care of his sister, but no one really knows where they are. Both of their nearest neighbors are gone. She's stopped by a few times now to trade with them. She brought meats and cheese and milk and hoped to see if they had some sort of flour or sugars. Neither answered their doors, and when Beth peeked in the windows, she saw their stumbling silhouettes and she knew they'd been infected. The rest of the town is in shambles now. The main store in town is almost always closed. The gas station ran out of gas a few weeks ago, and hasn't reopened since then. The hospital closed its doors, unable to help anyone with rotting skin. She's seen a few people try to pry their doors open, but usually one of their hands snapped off before they could get it open. She's never really ventured far past the main parts of town, and she's not brave enough to steal Daddy's truck and drive . Even if she really wants to.

The toaster dings, and she jumps.

The farm is so earth shatteringly quiet that she can hear her father wheezing from across the kitchen.

"Daddy?"

When she makes her way to get a good look at him, panic seizes her like there is a hand around her throat. "D…Daddy." She says it quietly, almost unable to speak. Her father's complexion is completely ashen, and his hand is shaking. His eyes have a funny look, like they are slowly being filled up by a smoky cloud.

His head lolls to one side as he focuses on her.

"Bethy."

His smile is funny- crooked and sad all at the same time.

"There's a cure coming. I'm sure of it."

 

When the man knocks on their front door, Beth stays in her room. Her door is locked, her dresser shoved up against it. Mostly to keep her father out. She can hear him, rambling around the large farm house. His leg drags, and occasionally there is a loud thud or crash. She's managed to sneak down to the kitchen a couple of days. She always takes as much food as she can before lightly running back up the stairs. She makes sure to avoid him, though at this point, she's not even sure he recognizes her. On the days she's feeling brave, she will stop and try to get a good look at him. Most of his skin is grey mush, and one of his hands is nothing but bone and tendons. She tries very hard to not gag, but it doesn't always work.

Today is a day she is not brave.

The man outside is getting annoyed.

She can see him, his tan skin and his bald head as he bangs on the door repeatedly.

"Open the fucking door." His accent is not local. She can't place it.

She waits a few moments, and the silence is broken when the man breaks the front door down. The crash echoes through the house, and Beth tries not to panic. She hears his heavy footsteps make their way through their house, until they stop in the hallway. Her hear sinks as she realizes he opening each of the bedroom doors. When he gets to hers, it seems to take him no time at all to pick the lock and fling it open. He shoves the dresser out of the way, and stops when he sees her shaking beside her bed.

"You Beth?"

She doesn't know if she should nod or cry to try to run past him. She just stares back at him, taking in his tall frame and his dirty tank top.

"How old are you?" He's squinting at her like he can't quite see her.

"Seventeen." She doesn't know why she answers that question. He keeps staring, his mouth in a thin line.

"You sure?" His eyebrows knit inward, and Beth feels the slightest bit braver.

"Why? Are you here to make sure I'm a legal adult before you kill me?" She stands upright, trying to make herself bigger. She knows it's not really an intimidating look. She's still short and pretty thin. Her hairs in a messy bun, and her dress and sweater hang off her shoulder. She can't remember if she's combed her hair today.

"Kill you?" He says with a drawl. "Nah, girl. I'm not here to kill you. I'm here to take you to your sister."

At the mention of her sister, Beth's heart begins to beat frantically.

"Maggie!"

"Yeah, that one."

"Where is she?"

The man is watching her, his eyes a little more intense now.

"Columbia."

Oh. So she made it. Maggie made it all the way. She tries to remember back to Shaun's conversation about the ships.

"And you'll take me to her? On a ship?"

The man smirks. "Somethin' like that."

He introduces himself as Merle. He has her gather up some of her things in a bag, and together they make their way down the stairs and through the living room. Her father is there, teeth gnashing at them as they walk past. He attempts to follow after them, but his other leg is bent at an awkward angle. Merle stops and gazes at him before glancing back to Beth.

"He hasn't bit ya, has he?"

She shakes her head.

"How long's he been like this?"

She tries to remember, but it's hard. The days have blurred together, at a horrifically slow pace. "A while now. I try to convince him to leave here, but he wanted to stay."

Merle nods his understanding, before reaching to his hip and drawing out a hand gun.

"Don't look."

She can't help but look, and the bullet pierces her father's skull much faster than she's prepared for. His skull bursts open, and the dark blood sloppily gloops out of his skull as though it's made of some thick goo. Her stomach retches, and she barely makes it outside in time.

Merle doesn't comment, he just lets her finish before they make their way to his truck.

When they hit the edge of town, Merle offers her a cigarette and stops to fill up the truck. She doesn't ask him how. The store seems closed to her, but she doesn't question him. He comes back with two bottles of water, bags of chips, and some candy bars. He offers her some before opening up his own bag. He drives silently for a few minutes before Beth can't take it anymore.

"Is Maggie ok?"

Merle glances at her, only mildly interested.

"She's alright. She'll be better when you get there."

His words make Beth's stomach flip over. Of course Maggie will be better when she sees her. They are sisters. Blood. She's probably missed her just as much as Beth has missed her.

"Course, once you get there, her debt will be cleared."

"Her debt?" Beth's head jerks towards him.

"Yeah, her debt. She owes the captain quite a bit. He doesn't really enjoy helping folks out. Specially not stow aways."

"Stow aways?" The confusion swarms through her mind. "What do you mean she was a stow away? Our brother said he could get her on a boat and…"

Merle's laugh cuts her off.

"Your brother ain't shit out there. He got no way of gettin' anyone on no boat."

Beth's stomach begins to sink as though the chips she's eaten were made of rocks. "Are they ok?"

Merle nods, still laughing. "Fine. Be even better soon."

"What did you mean when you said her debt will be cleared when I get there?" The curiosity is burning her alive. She tries to drink some water to douse the flames licking her throat. She finds he can't swallow.

Merle takes a minute before he answered.

"You. The captain agreed to take you as payment for their debts. I aint so sure he knew you were so young. I'm thinkin he likes them a little older than you."

His words stay in her head for a long time after. Merle's quiet after that, but it doesn't matter. The blood pumps so furiously through her that she can't hear.

How dare she.

Maggie.

Trade her to pay off some debt like they are in another century. She's not somebody's possession. She wants to yell that this isn't even legal, but she doubts Merle cares about legal. The way things are today, there's not really any sort of law enforcement she could turn him in to. Even if she could get out of this truck. She almost laughs. The worlds ending, her sister and brother ran away to become pirates, her father turned into a rotting mindless corpse, and now she's been traded to pay a debt to a man whom she's never even met.

The town is dark and full of wispy shadows and empty buildings. She puts her head down against the window and closes her eyes. When she opens them again, they are passing decrepit sign that advertises a beach side motel. In the distance, she can barely make out a fleet of ships.

This time, when the world comes to an end, Beth is seventeen.


End file.
